Immigration Salary List Closes on 31 December 2026: Why You Should Act Now

Immigration Salary List Closing on 31 December 2026

The Immigration Salary List, which consists of a total of 25 occupations where a reduced skills and salary threshold applies in the Skilled Worker route, will be closed on 31 December 2026.

The only exceptions are the care and senior care worker roles (occupation codes 6135 and 6136, respectively), which come with a later expiration date of 22 July 2028. However, both these roles are already subject to immigration restrictions under separate rules, with new overseas applications closed since 22 July 2025.

On the same date (i.e., 31 December 2026), the Home Office will also expire the interim Temporary Shortage List (TSL).

While the ISL lowers the general salary threshold for shortage occupation roles, the TSL allows RQF 3-5 occupations (at full salary threshold) into the Skilled Worker route that now otherwise requires degree-level (RQF 6 and above) roles.

UK employers have been relying heavily on these two mechanisms (ISL and TSL) to hire foreign skilled nationals via the Skilled Worker route, especially in sectors which currently experience a huge domestic skills gap, such as healthcare, engineering, technical services, logistics, manufacturing, etc.

It is, therefore, needless to say that both the sponsoring UK employers and their sponsored foreign workers are going to be significantly impacted by the imminent ISL and TSL closures.

Mark 30 December 2026 on Your Calendar

If you are a UK-based employer sponsoring foreign workers on the Skilled Worker visa route, the date to mark on your calendar is 30 December 2026. This is so because the ISL closure date actually applies to when a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) is being issued, and not to when your foreign employee submits their visa application.

Certificates issued on or before 30 December 2026 can still claim eligible benefits under both the ISL and TSL. Once the CoS is issued, your foreign hires will have the usual three months (90 days) from that date to apply for a UK Skilled Worker visa.

Employers must NOT, however, wait till 30 December to issue the CoS. If anything goes awry at the last minute, you will no longer be able to claim any benefits under the ISL or the TSL.

For any CoS assigned after 30 December, the full £41,700 threshold (or going rate for the specific job role) applies as the ISL is no longer in effect. What’s more, the job may not remain sponsorable at all after the said date if it does not feature on the revised TSL even if you are meeting or exceeding the minimum salary requirement.

What Sponsoring Employers Must Do

Get ready. And we do not mean that only your HR department need to be prepared for this upcoming change. The owner(s), directors, and effectively everyone who manages sponsored employees in your company must work together to avoid any adverse scenario.

Start with collecting the information: what are the existing job roles in your organisation that rely on the ISL or the interim TSL? Audit all such cases and jot down the CoS assignment or renewal dates.

This will help you with assessing potential sponsorship and operational risks going forward, understanding current workforce/skills demand and supply gaps in the domestic labour market, identifying roles that will definitely require hiring foreign talent in the coming days, and planning your recruitment budget for 2027.

Impact on the Sponsored Foreign Employee

How the ISL closure impacts the foreign employees depends on the date when they were first sponsored in the Skilled Worker route.

Those who were first sponsored for those RQF Level 3-5 occupations listed on the ISL before 22 July 2025, will benefit from transitional protection. They will continue to be able to work in their sponsored roles, extend their permission when due, and apply for settlement (i.e., indefinite leave to remain) when eligible otherwise.

However, if you were sponsored on or after 22 July 2025, you cannot extend your leave or move to a new employer or sponsored role within these listed occupations from 31 December 2026 onwards.

Note that the closure does not invalidate your current UK immigration status though. You can continue living in the UK and working in your current role as long as your existing Skilled Worker visa is valid and you are meeting its conditions.

This provision may allow a sponsored foreign employee sufficient time to consult an immigration lawyer and plan their next move.

Speak to IAS

As the 31 December deadline approaches fast, acting on time is crucial now more than ever.

The UK work immigration rules are rapidly changing. Whether you are a sponsoring employer or a sponsored employee, you must plan ahead to accommodate these changes in your current UK work strategy and get the best out of the new reality.

IAS has a team of expert UK immigration lawyers with several years of experience helping UK-based employers and foreign workers with their sponsorship and work visa requirements, respectively.

We can help you assess the impact and come up with a viable and sustainable plan before the year-end deadline. Call us on +44 (0)333 414 9244 now to book a consultation.